Chapter 20 - London Community Land Trust: A Story of People, Power, and Perseverance - Dave Smith

The founding executive director of the largest CLT in the United Kingdom traces the process and politics behind the establishment of the London Community Land Trust. At the center of this story is a 10-year campaign that was waged by LCLT to acquire and to convert a former NHS hospital into affordable housing. Drawing on this experience, which was ultimately a success, he offers three lessons that are “relevant to the CLT movement worldwide.”

What is On Common Ground?

ON COMMON GROUND is a collection of original essays, written by 42 scholars and practitioners from a dozen countries, tracing the growth and diversification of the international community land trust movement.

A community land trust (CLT) is a transformative strategy of community-led development on community-owned land that has taken root in the Global North and is now spreading to the Global South. CLTs produce and preserve affordably priced homes, community gardens, retail spaces, and a variety of neighborhood facilities – all developed under the guidance of the people who live nearby; all managed to remain permanently affordable for people of modest means.